They’re Watching

Becky is a Los Angeles artist relocating to Eastern Europe. She allows a home renovation tv show to follow her to a remote town in Moldavia where she plans to purchase her new home. She chooses a run-down house that should probably be condemned. Becky feels she and her European soccer player boyfriend, Goran can handle it. Months later, the tv crew returns for the”after” episode. Becky and Goran have done an amazing job. As the crew begins to shoot video for the new show, they have several uncomfortable encounters with the villagers. The crew knows they were never welcome in town and they slowly begin to get the feeling they never should have made the trip, yet Becky and Goran seem to have adjusted just fine.

They’re Watching takes a unique idea and takes it in the direction of the Blair Witch Project. Unfortunately, it does not work. It opens awkwardly with a scene from the ending. It is out-of-place and makes little sense considering it uses the found footage, first person point-of-view. The film is billed as a horror-comedy. It is neither scary nor funny. The countless F-bombs are unrealistic, even for the most accomplished user of profanity. There is a musical score inserted into a few scenes; this is also extremely awkward. Found-footage movies usually do not have music accompanying a particularly touching or dramatic scene. Finally, the CGI effects during the big climactic battle between good and evil are simply overused.

They’re Watching has other things working against it. The story takes a long time to get going and none of the characters are remotely endearing. The nasty correspondent is one of the few bright spots because she is as mean as anyone else you might find in the world of television.

They’re Watching could have been a fun story but it never truly begins to develop into anything more than a tale about creepy locals harassing a group of stereotypical, arrogant Americans. By the time we discover their motives, we are not surprised and we just want it to end.

Get new spoiler-free reviews from the cutting room

Enter your email address to get notifications of new posts from the cutting room by email.

Join 71 other followers

THE FINAL CUT

Is it worthy of a spot in your permanent library or should it be left on the cutting room floor?
The final cut score includes five categories on a scale of 1-10 and calculated for a final percentage.

CATEGORIES

Originality: have we seen it all before?

Acting/Script: Do the actors and writers have any talent or are they just well-connected to the filmmaker?

Plot: It does not need to be plausible but it should be enjoyable or interesting.

Appropriate gore: Is there some good gore and is it used the right way?

Production value: Lights, camera, sound quality, etc.

SCORES:

90-100%-Drop what you are doing and get to a streaming service. Grab the popcorn, drinks and your favorite hockey mask. Whatever you do, find a way to see this one!

80-89%-Sometimes it is better to stay home on Saturday night. You will be glad you stayed home with this one.

70-79%-Then again, maybe you should have gone out. This one is nothing special but it can pass the time if you are working the overnight shift or babysitting some little demons while everyone else is out having fun.

60-69%-this is actually the most insulting kind of bad film because the producers, director, studio, etc., try to pass it off as a legitimate horror movie. It is a slap in the face to fans who expect and deserve better.

59% and below -Hey guys, my dad gave me a video camera for my birthday so let’s make a movie. The critics in the cutting room sat through this piece of “S.” We watched the whole thing and wanted to stab ourselves in the face. At least you get to miss this one.